D/F HANDBOOK FOR WIRELESS OPERATORSalso by W._E. CROOK ELEMENTARY HANDBOOK for WIRELESS OPERATOR‘ ELEMENTARY. MATHEMATICS for WIRELESS OPERATORS A kona ei In ELECTRICITY IN AIRCRAFT WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY WIRELESS OPERATING 39 Parker Street, Kingsway, W.C.2 D/F HANDBOOK FOR WIRELESS OPERATORS BY W. E. CROOK SECOND EDITION LONDON SIR ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, LTD 198Firet Pdition, 1042 ‘Sieond Edition, 142 (sconronanve mi Cowie. rer nope Cowra) ‘thc notae SNS cae sineE Tomas PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION Iw preparing the second edition of this work, it was felt desirable to extend its scope and cover the interests of the aircraft operator. A chapter on Aircraft D/F has accordingly been added, and it is hoped that the additional information will enable wireless operators ‘who may work in the air to use their D/F apparatus with confidence. ‘The reception accorded to the first edition has been more than «gratifying, and the author wishes to take this opportunity of thank- ing all those who have written expressing appreciation, PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION Ir Fas for some time been recognized that the wireless operator employed at a D/P station must be regarded as a specialist, and experionce has shown the necessity for specialized training of those who are to undertake this work Although most general treatises on radio contain some information about D/F, it is felt that a small book devoted exclusively to the subject will be particularly useful to wireless operators who are already working on D/F or who wish to volunteer for this branch when their training is completed. In the following pages, a knowledge of elementary radio theory has been assumed, but a strictly practical treatment has been maintained as far as possible Specific D/F apparatus is not referred to becanse the variations in detail are very wide and nothing would be gained by describing one or two actual sets which will inevitably be obsolete in a compara tively short time. ‘The aim is rather to give the student such know- ledge of the principles ofall D/F apparatus and its operation as will enable him to view any D/F station through the specialist's eye, and consequently to take up his duties with the minimum of delay necessary to master local details.CONTENTS “"" pREPACE TO SECOND EDITION rs PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION « - oe fy 1. GENERAL EW OF D/P. M. ROTATING FRAME DIF. eee mm wELLINNTOS DF. eee TD IV, SENSING AND FIXING 8 8 V. ERRORS IN DF. Se 86 Vi. SITING AND CALIBRATION foe 36 Vil. AIRCRAFT D/P 64 mex : 8D/F HANDBOOK FOR WIRELESS OPERATORS CHAPTER I GENERAL VIEW OF D/F ‘Tite practical application of D/F is an aid to marine and air naviga- tion, and itis with this aspect that the Dj operator is concerned. In the absence of radio communication, a ship or aircraft can deter- mine and Keep track of its position either by (@) dead-reckoning (D.R,) navigation, of (b) astronomical observations. D.R. naviga- tion means the recording of the path followed by observing compass course, Speed and time, and in the case of aircraft it may easily become inaccurate owing to unknown or changing winds and the high speeds of modern aircraft, more especially when the aircraft's task involves frequent changes of course. “Astronomical observations are obviously dependent upon weather conditions; the equipment required is suitable mainly for large aircraft and, in any ease, astro-navigation is only applicable to really long flights. These difficulties are comparatively unimportant in ships because theit speed is insignificant compared to that of an aircraft and the duration of the voyage enormously greater. Wireless D/F used by a ship is therefore more in the nature of a check on the older methods of navigation—valuable and universally employed, but not perhaps imperative ‘With aircraft, the specds involved and the difficulties of applying D.R. navigation have resulted in radio D/F taking first place in navigational methods, and the organization of a modern airport has become dependent upon the existence of a D/F service. Directional propertios can be vested in either a transmitter or 2 receiver, and in both cases are determined entirely by the design of the aerial system and the circuits immediately associated with it. ‘The bulk of D/F work is carried out by means of directional reception and there are two methods available— 1. A fixed transmitter giving all-round (non-direetional) radiation. A directional aerial system on the mobile station, ie. the ship or alirerat. 2. An all-round transmitter on the ship or aircraft. A fixed D/F station ashore, for example at the airport Practically all ships are fitted with D/F receivers, and the fixed transmitters necessary for Method 1 are provided in the form of 12 D/F HANDBOOK FOR WIRKLESS OPERATORS coast beacons, These exist all over the world and are merely auto- matic all-round transmitters which radiate at frequent intervals and identify themselves by the use of callsigns. Full details of all such beacons, their latitude and longitude, callsigns, times of transmission, frequency, etc., can be found in the list of “Stations Performing ‘Special Services,” published by the International Bureau of the Telegraph Union, Berne. That book is always carried on ships and in some cases on aircraft. Any broadcasting station can, of course, aso be used in this way provided the exact position of the transmitter is known. The chef advantages of this method fre that the sup of aucraft does its own DY and sto that extent independent of any ground organization, In addition, any number of sips or aieaft can cary oot D/F simltancously becuse they do.not have to transmit during the a the case of aerator very smal ships he necessity for atrying special D/F apparatus is a point against the method, but a much more serous disadvantage vith aarralt the fact that ground controlis lost. The speed of aircraft isagain the major consideration, because when a number of aircraft are converging on an airport in thick weather, the risk of collision becomes very real, with th result that communication between aircraft and ground,’ and control of aircraft movements by the aisport authorities are imperative in the interests of safety. Method 2 involves the erection of D{F stations of a permanent nature on the ground, each station Eaving its own transmitter for communicating with the ship or aieraft requiting D/P service. Two-way communication is thus involved which overcomes the objection to Method 1 for aircraft. In addition, it is somewhat easier to obtain precision in grounl D/F stations than in D/F apparatus in ships or aircraft, particularly the latter. ‘From this short general review it will be seen that most marine wireless operators will have occasion to use D/I apparatus, a fair proportion of air operators will do so, and all of them will from time to time make use of ground DF stations when the navigating oficer requires it. Operators employed on ground D/F stations, of course, do little except D/F and, as mentioned in the Preface, must be considered specialists in their work. ings. ‘The direction of one poirt from another must be stated with reference to some fixed datum line, and this is universally taken as the direction of True North. ‘A bearing is thus specified as the engle made by the line joining ‘the two stations with the True North line (Meridian) passing through one of them, ‘This angle can clearly have any value between O° and 360°, and the mutual bearings of two stations are reciprocal, i. they difier by 180°." For example, in Fig. 1, if A is due west of B, the bearing of A from + Since the Earth is approximately 4 shee, this strictly true only for stations whiche on the tame merylian, fe north and aout ofeach othe. GENERAL VIEW OF D/F 3 B is 270°, and the bearing of B from A is 90°. Similarly, if the bearing of D from C is 50°, the bearing of C from D is 230°, True North means the direction of the meridian and all meridians pass through the North Pole of the Earth, the North Pole beng ‘one end of the Earth's axis of rotation. ‘Magnetic North means the direction in which a compass needle points, which s towards the Earth's Magnetic North Pole, Magnetic North and True North are not always coincident, and the angular difference in their directions from any particular place } TrueN re neh Magee o B ese ‘ ‘ Wes» es c A ot Pio. 2 is called the Magnetic Variation at that place. This itself is not constant but changes slowly at the rate of a few minutes of arc per year. Local magnetic variation can be found from an Ordnance Survey map, or rom an Admiralty Chart in the case of positions at sea, ‘Thus there are three kinds of bearings with which a D/F operator 1. True Bearings, reckoned from True North. The D/F scale is almost invariably arranged to read true bearings. 2, Magnetic Bearings. These are found by adding the magnetic variation, if west, or subtracting it if east. For example, if the local magnetic’ variation is 10° west, and a station is found to bear 45° true, the magnetic bearing of the station will be 45° + 10° = 55°. Fig. 2 will make this clear. ‘The bearing of B from A is 45° true or 55° magnetic. 3, Magnetic Reciprocal Bearings. These are found by adding or subtracting 180° to or-from the magnetic bearing, and are very commonly used with aircraft, because reversing the hearing is more convenient for the pilot. Suppose in Fig. 2 that A is a ground D/F station and B is an For stations not on the same meridian, but close together—within, say, 50 les th arene beeen natal Bearings woslt notte Inoch over One gree. The difference is due to the convergency ofthe meridians and would ‘elsiowed for wien necomsny by the navigator,4 J HANDBOOK FOR WIRELESS OPERATORS aircraft, B presumably wishes to know the compass course which ine should follow to reach A, ic. he wants the magnctic bearing of A from himself. To A, this is the reciprocal of B's magnetic bearing from him-—hence the term Magnetic Reciprocal Bearing. Having determined B's true bearing as 45°, A will then add the magnetic’ variation plas 180°, giving 45° +10" ++ 180° = 235°, ‘which is the magnetie course B must follow to seach A (neglecting other factors such as drift due to cross-winds). ince, ‘The position of a ship of airerafe can be determined by N A eee Fie. 3 Fro. 4 cross-bearings, and will be the poitt at which the bearings from two or more D/F stations intersect. Tn Fig. 3.4 and B represent two DjF stations. If the bearings of a ship or aircraft are taken and applied to a map, the position of the ship or aircraft must be at X. The steps in’ the process are as follows— 1, Ship (or aircraft) asks D/F station A (assumed to be the con- trol station) for position. . DIF station A asks ship to transmit, D/f stations A and B take bearing of ship. Station B passes bearing to station A (by telephone ot radio}. Station 4 applies both beatings Lo a map. Station A informs ship of result, either in terms of latitude and longitude or by some other agreed method. ‘Alternatively, the same process can be carried out on the ship using her own D/F apparatus and assuming A and B to be coast beacons, This, however, means that the time taken will probably amount to several minttes unless A and B happen to transmit consecutively. While this is of minor importance in the case of Ship, it would be hopelessly inaccurate for an aircraft which has covered, say, 20 miles in § minutes. If A and B are ground D/F stations’ with expert operators, the fix can be determined and transmitted to the aireraft in little more than a minute. (GENERAL VIEW OF D/F 5 In modern practice, a 2-bearing fix is not considered sufficiently reliable, and 3-bearing fixes are the rule. In Fig. 4 a third D/F station C has also taken a bearing on the moving station, and the control station A applies all three bearings ‘tothe map. If the three bearings intersect at a point, this is regarded as a satisfactory fix, and with modern DjF apparatus the three bearings do so intersect in the majority of cases. Ifa small triangle is formed, as in Fig. 4, the fix is given as the centre’ of the triangle, but when the greatest side of the triangle represents more than c. 8 Fis. 5 bout 2 miles foreach 50 miles of range, either the fixing proess is repeated or the position given as "second class” : He should be noted thatthe accuracy of a D/P fx deteriorates as the angle between the bearings becomes more acute. In Fig, 5 the position 3 as determined by the eross-beacings from 4, B and C is less accurate than position X in Fig. 4, even though ite tires beatings do intersect at point, This will be explained more fully in Chapter IV. ‘Accuracy of D/F Bearings, As will be seen subsequently, the taking of 4 bearing by DIE apparatus involves observations of changes in the strength of a very weak sigoal, With modera equip- sent and sinder favourable conditions it often possible to detect Such changes when the moving pact of the D/F gear is varied in position by a fraction ofa degree, so that the bearing can apparently be read to the nearest 3° oreven less. ns oe > Te must be remembered, however, that such a performance only reflects credit onthe equipment anv doesnot mean that bearings can necessarily be regarded as having splitadegree accuracy. "Mam oliier factors enter into the matter, and “sensitivity” of the divection-inder must not be confused with its accuracy. Fractions ofa degree ate never Used in D/F work, and even if they weve true would have no valve, because i isnot possible to steer ship or reraft within soch narrow limits. Again: from a practical point of tiew, a “rough’” bearing, fo bad tobe called even third class, and having a potential error of 5", may sometimes be of considerable aloe fon sirraft whic ic forthe thine being lot Tho ditinetlon tetween frst, seconde, and third-lae bearings wil be discussed in Chapter IV. * The “contro” means the centre of the iniribed circle, fe, a point equi distant from the sides poneCHAPTER IL ROTATING FRAME D/P ‘Tur first step in the reception of a radio signal is the erection of an aerial system in the path of the wave, thus obtaining a miniature replica of the current in the distart transmitting aerial. ‘The subject ofrclectric wave propagation is a large onc, and it is not necessary for the D/F operator to study it academically, but to understand the behaviour of D/F aerials it is essential fo have a clear-cut conception of the approaching wave and the manner in which it ‘produces E.M.F’s in conductors presented to it Tn order to simplify matters, the action willbe considered in terms of Faraday’s Law, which states that when a conductor is eut by the Electric el F rat on 0 Bred Magnetic @ © Fe. 6 lines of force of a magnetic field an E.M.F. is induced in the conductor. ‘An cleciric wave involves magnetic and electric strains in the carcying medium, Le. the ether. The line of electric fore, the lines fof magnetic force, and the direction of wave-travel are mutually at ight angles. Further, both magnstic and electric elds are alternat- ing and are in phase (at distances more than a few wave-length from the radiating acral system). This is often expressed by saying that the magnetic and electric components are in time phase But space quadrature, which means that they reach their corresponding maxt- ‘mum and minimum values together but that the respective lines of force are at 90° Fig. 6 (a) shows the relative pesitions of wave travel and lines of force, and (8) represents the appearance of the wave “front” to an observer facing the transmitter, assuming the lines of force to be Fig. 7 is a plan view of the transmitting aerial and the circles 6 ROTATING FRAME D/F 7 represent the radiated magnetic field. If this is visualized as expanding outwards in much the same way as the wave motion on the surface of still water when a stone is dropped into it, a fairly accurate impression is obtained. ‘A single vertical conductor placed in the path of the wave will clearly be ent by the alternating magnetic field and an E.MLF. will be induced in it, In addition, it is immaterial from what direction, Fie. 7 the wave is arriving, so that for a given field strength, the E.MLR willbe the same for any direction. Polar Diagram of Aerial. A polar diagram is a graph, using polar co-ordinates, which shows the receiving properties of ah aerial Eystem for any direction of signal ‘With polar co-ordinates the position of a point on the graph is specitied by means of an angle and a distance, instead of by two distances as in the case of cartesian co-ordinates This method is more convenient for some purposes and should be quite clear from Fig. 8 In Fig. 8 (2) the point Pis Sumits from the x axis (OX) and 4 units from they axis (OY), ‘The distance OP is therefore v# | # tant} 37" (weary), The'same point is shown in (b) in which its postion relative to OX is specied by the distance r and the angle B where r = 8 units and 02 37". Sand the angle POX is8 D/F HANDBOOK FOR WIRELESS OPERATORS ‘To determine the pclar diagram of an aerial system experimentally, a portable transmitter would be taken round the aerial at a con’ venient distance (say 5 miles) and the received signal strength measured for a number of different positions. That is to say, the transmitter would be moved round the circumference of a circle, o x @ wo Fie. 8 radius 5 miles and centre the receiving aerial, and the signal strength recorded every few degrees. The strength of signals would not, of course, be judged by ear, but measured on some suitable precision instrument. ‘The use of polar co-ordinates for construction of the polar diagram ‘will now become cleat. Any convenient direction can be taken as the starting line, corresponding to the axis OX XS of Fig. (0). The signal strength received “from this direction is marked off on a suit- 0° _-X@ able scale, and subsequent points on the 1x1 graph are specified in terms of angle and 15 signal strength. X "Tn Fig. § the point O represents the Fie. 9 position of the receiving aerial. The line OX represents the strength of signals received from a transmitter at @ given distance along the line OX produced, OX, represents the strength of signals received from the same transmitter at the same distance along the line OX, produced, and similarly for OX, OX,, etc. The points X, X,, X,, Xy, ete., are therefore points ‘on the polar diagram of the aerial, and the complete diagram is formed by joining up all such points. Tf the strength of signal is found to remain constant for any direction of the transmitter the polae diagram clearly becomes a circle, ie. the acrial gives “all-round” non-directional reception. This is the case for an ordinary vertcal-vice, “aerial, “1.” aerial or sausage type, none of these having any noticeable directional properties unless ‘the Herizonta) portion is several times the length of the vertical portion, which is rarely the case. Even then, the directional property is not very pronounced, ROTATING FRAME D/F 9 Fig. 10 ows the polar diagrams forthe three commonest types of “open” aerial (a) the ciel diagram fora plan vertieal Ving for a “Tor “1” acral with a lily short horizontal pote (0) is the egg-shaped diagram for an "L” aerial, the smal ees denoting the Teadrin end, and the horizontal portion ing aboot six to ten times the height. Tt wil be seen that the aerial scenes Best from a ection opposite to that in which te Tree ead ss Pointing, the radius of the polar diagram being. greatest in thas Sireetion. G) ithe elipical diagram for a “Paci wih an equall long horizontal portion. 8 my itisimportant forthe D[F operator to become so familiar with the conceptions illustrated by polar diagrams that a mental picture of the diagram concerned accompanies his operation of DIF apparatus, @ wo © Fie, 10 ‘This is by no means difficult, and it should be remembered that a polar diagram is qualitative rather than quantitative, ive. it is a handy pictorial way of showing the behaviour of an aerial rather ‘than a mathematical figure. So much is this the case that switches on D/F apparatus are often engraved with small representations of polar diagrams instead of words. ‘The aerial systems and polar diagrams which lead directly to D/F will now be discussed. Spaced Open Aerials. If two ordinary vertical-wire aerials are erected near one another, both will be influenced by a wave arriving from a distant transmitter, and if the two aerials are of the same size and have the same constants (resistance, inductance and capacity) the currents in each will be identical in value. Unless, however, the two aerials are exactly the same distance from the transmitting aerial, the two currents will not be in phase because at any instant the aerials are occupying different positions in the radiated fed. If now both aerials are coupled to the same receiver, signal strength will be found to depend upon (a) aerial spacing, and (5) the Position of the line joining the aerials relative to the path of the These facts are illustrated geometrically in Fig. 11. 7 is the distant transmitter, A and B represent the positions of two vertical serials. 4 and B are clearly equidistant from T when AB is at 90° to TO, AB then being the base of an isosceles triangle with Tas its sn10 _D/ HANDBOOK OR WIRELESS OPERATORS ing AB vertex, in which case TA = TB Assuming the aerial spacing {ovtemaia ‘constant, the greatst phase dliference between the currents in the aeriais will occur in the position A, By when y is nearest the transmitter and B, furthest away. For any intermediate Az |, a5 Fa. position such as A,B, there will be some phase difference, but less sn that for position 4\By ; inte extent of the pee ieee wil depend opm he rai between aerial spacing and the wave length of the sig So far, the aerials have been considered as entirely separate, ba for D/F purposes they must be coupled to a common receiver, ani =o A 8 . 2000 7B Bos. ° Fi, 12, ” Fue. 13 Fig. 12 shows how a pair of spaced aerials can be developed into a “frame” aerial— 2 a aa, () See hl i comm ath sat any or may df Se rant m cece te i vp ae sete tem me a acta sili elf aD satu pi or EAE LOaB epee the na wo ame aie ROTATING FRAME D/e u 0 is the centre and is the point from which the radii of the polar diagram are measured. Let OX represent the signal strength from a transmitter in line with the plane of the loop. This will give 2 maximum phase difference between the E.M.F’s in the vertical Sides of the loop, a maximum resultant loop current, and therefore maximum signal strength. Now assume that the transmitter is moved round so that the signal is arriving in a direction making an angle 0 with OX. The effective frame width is now found by drawing the perpendiculars Aa and BBy A,B, is thus the projection of AB upon the new signal direction, It follows that— A,B, = AB cos 8 ‘Since the strength of signal is proportional to the effective spacing- Pie. td the radius of the polar diagram in the new direction will be propot- tional to cos 0, so that— OX, = OX cos 0 amd consequently the angle OX,% is 907. ‘This s true for any direc. tion of signal, and it follows from geometry that the polar diagram willbe a cele on OX as diameter ‘Asimilac cle wil oe oe the other side, and the complete polar diagram of the frame ie shown in Fig. 14 This is called the figure-8 polar diagram, and its implications will now be discussed, DIF with Simple Frame. In order to use a frame aerial for D/F the frame is rotated about a vertical axis and the position of minnnon Signal strength noted. ‘The plane of the frame will then be at ight angles to the direction of the signal and a scale of degrees enaties {he bearing to be read. The maximum position, when the frame is in Ine with the signal, is not suitable for D/E, the teason belag shown in Fig. 15. AB 3s a frame aerial with its associated fgure8 polar di GX tepreseats the maximum signal strength obtainable and OX, OXa represent the signal strength when the frame is turned 30° of sither side of the true maximum position,12 D/F HANDBOOK FOR WIRELESS OPERATORS ox, je Measurement will show that [5+ is about %,, so that the signal strength falls by only about 10 per cent, even when the frame is swung 80°. In addition, there is the fact that the human ear cannot detect small changes in the intensity‘of a foud sound, with the result that it is impossible to determine the maximum ‘position of the frame with any accuracy. Errors of at least 10” would be almost certain, so that the maximum position must be discarded for D/F. Fig. 16 is an enlarged view of the minimum position. The radius of the polar diagram in the direction OY at right angles to the frame is, of course, zero, which means that if the frame is in this position relative to the transmitter there will be no signal. An angular Fie, 15 rotation of the frame through 10° on either side gives a signal strength corresponding to OX, or OX,, Actually, a 2° swing or less will give an audible signal, but it is not possible to show this on a printed diagram because the lines cover one another. Remembering, however, that OX, = OX cos 0 (Fig. 15), it can easily be seen how quickly the valne of OX, changes for small variations of 6 in the neighbourhood of @ = 90°. For instance— cos 90° = 0 cos 89°5° = -0087 cos 89° = 0175 cos 88° = -0349 This shows that a rotation of the frame through $° from 89'5° to doubles the signal E.M.F., and a further rotation to 88° doubles again. From these facts it will be seen that the minimum position is sharply defined and can be located with precision, further assist ance being derived from the fact that the human ear is very sensitive to changes in the intensity of a weak sound. Scales. The scale on which the bearing is read can be arranged in two ways, 1, Fixed scale and moving pointer. In this case the scale is engraved clockwise from 0° to 359° with figures every 10°. This arrangement is fairly satisfactory if the ROTATING FRAME D/F 13 D{F operator is looking down on to the scale when using the appara- ‘us, and can therefore read any part of it, but parallax errors may 29° 190 go 10 2, Fic. 17 ‘occur in the neighbourhood of 90° and 270°. In Fig. 17 a bearing of 40° is indicated. 2. Fixed pointer and moving scale. This is the better scheme and is more usual in rotating loop D/F. Fie, 18 Since the relative movement is reversed, the scale engraving must be anti-clockwise, as in Fig. 18, in which a bearing of 40° is indicated,“ p/P HANDBOOK FoR WinezESS OPERATORS [As the pointer does not move, it can be mounted in any con- venient position, preferably directly in front of the operator, thus avoiding any parallax error. Nore. It will be seen from the symmetry of the figure-8 polar diagram that the minimom position of the frame indicates either the correct bearing or its reciprocal. Thus a scale reading of 40° with a simple rotating loop D/F means that the bearing of the trans- miter is either 40° or 220°. The determining of which is correct is, called “sensing” the bearing and will be dealt with in a later chapter. Setting of Scale or Pointer. The position of the scale or pointer is quite immaterial, and it is not necessary that the pointer of Fig. 17 should be at 90° to the plane of the loop aerial, or that the pointer of Fig. 18 should have any particular orientation. Only one condition is required for the correct reading of D/F bearings— The scale reading must be 0° when the plane of the loop aerial is True East-West Given this condition, the scale and pointer can be arranged in any position found convenient. ‘Taking a Bearing. As will be explained in Chapter V the minimum. position of the frame is not always very sharply defined. That is to say, although there is a position which gives a minimum signal, the signal does not fall to zero, In this case, a “swing” bearing is taken, the loop being swung backwards and forwards through the minimum, position for several degrees on each side of it. Two points of equal, signal strength are judged by ear and the bearing taken as half-way between them. This is quite reliable for swings up to about 7°-10" on each side, but if a larger swing is required the bearing must be considered doubtful, even though an experienced operator can judge the apparent minimum position fairly accurately. ‘The term “swing” bearing implics the swingng of the loop in order to locate ‘a minimum which is not zero, but in practice all bearings are taken by swinging the loop. When, however, the minimum is very crisp the extent of the swing will become only about a degree of two, and the loop can be placed " dead on” the minimum instead of estimating the contre point between two equal signal intensities. Effect of Frame Dimensions. Maximum possible strength of signals occurs when the frame diameter ishel the wave-length being received. This is shown in Fig. 19. At any instant, the induced E-M-P.’s in the two vertical limbs will be 180° out of phase. They will therefore act in the same direction in the loop circuit. Any reduction in the diameter of the frame will cause the phase difference to be less than 180" and consequently reduce the resultant E.M.F. It will be obvious that for medium frequencies, such as, for example, the civil aviation D/F wave 333 kes, (900 mettes), the frame diameter is uly a small fraction of the wavelength, and the signal strength is propor- tionately small. A high degree of amplification is, therefore, required in D/F receivers. ROTATING FRAME D/ 15 ‘An analysis shows that the true cosine polar diagram as in Fig. 1H is obtained only when the frame diameter is about 4 or less. This is always the case on medium frequencies, but asa matter of interest, the polar diagrams for larger frames are shown in Fig. 20, from which it will be seen that the frame will follow the cosine law for diameters Bae whi almost up to Fat which the flattening of the circles is very slight, On short-wave D/F, however, the question of aerial spacing assumes some importance and will be referred to again in a later chapter. <4 ADS Xd 2 Fic, 20 Rotating Beacon DF. This is an application of directional transmission for D/F purposes. ‘The polar diagram of a frame aerial is reversible, ie. it also represents the distribution of radiated energy if the aerial is coupled to a transmitter. If such a frame is slowly rotated at a known speed and is keyed automatically to send identification signals at known positions, distant receiving stations (ce. ships or aircraft) can take bearings on the transmitter with no Apparatus other than an ordinary recelver anda stop-watch, ‘The transmitting framo.is rotated mechanically at a uniform speed of 1 revolution per minute and two positions of the frame are in- dicated on each revolution, one when the plane of the frame is16 D/F HANDBOOK FOR WIRELESS, OPERATORS east-west and another 15 seconds later when the plane of the frame is north-south. The two positions are identified by means of morse letters, different pairs of letters being used for different beacons. Each transmission occupies 4 minutes, and the beacon is then silent whilst other beacons are operating, transmissions taking place in turn. ‘The method of using the beacon will be best understood from Fig. 21, which shows the details of transmission. ‘An important point to remember, and one which is frequently IK Fre. a1 “misunderstoed, is that the position of the frame at the north starting signal is east-west. An aircraft or ship which is nearly due north or south of the beacon will, therefore, aot hear this signal because the frame will, at that moment, be at 90° to his bearing. This is the reason for providing the east starting signal which occurs when the frame is north-south. To take a bearing on the beacon the stop-watch is started at the ‘commencement of the long dash, either at north or east. To facilitate accurate starting of the stop-watch, the two executive dots are provided immediately following the identification letter. These are ‘equally spaced from each other and from Use start of Ue long dsl, 0 that by counting I—2—3 the watch can be started with precision. The signal must clearly pass through a minimum and the watch is stopped at the instant of minimum signal strength. The frame is ROTATING FRAME D/F "7 rotating at 6” per second, so that the bearing is given by a simple calculation from the stop-watch reading. veer Fig. 22 (a) shows the result of using the north starting signal, AB represents the position of the frame at the instant of starting N ‘ @ wie, 22 the stop-watch. If 4,Bj is the position of the frame at the minimum, signal the bearing of the receiving station must clearly be on the line at right angles to A,B. If¢seconds are shown on the stop-watch, the bearing will be either 6 or (6! + 180)°. In Fig. 22 (8) the east starting signal has been used. AB represents N Fie. 28 the position of the frame at the instant of starting the stop-watch, and A,B, the position of the frame at the minimum. The bearing will be the line drawn at right angles to 4,B, and will either be (8. 4 90)" oF (6 + 270)", ‘The bearings obtained can be accurate to about 4: 2° after a little practice. The tendency at first is to wait too long for the ‘minimum which has to be more or less anticipated in order to stop18 D/ HANDBOOK FOR WIRELESS OPERATORS the watch at the right moment. The bearings are of course unsensed, but this is not of great consequence in most cases, the correct bearing being known from other facts. Should there be any doubt, the change in the bearing on a later observation wil remove it, In Fig. 23, 0 represents the beacon site. Suppose an aircraft takes a bearing on the beacon and gets the line XY, but is not sure whether the correct bearing is OX or OY. The course of the aircraft will naturally be known, "Assuming this to be about north-west, the track of the aireraft is represented by the line XX, or YY,. It will be clear from an inspection of Fig. 23 that the subsequent bearing will be numerically less if the aircraft is on YY, and numerically greater if the aircraft ison XX,.. The sense of the bearing can then be deduced. In any particular ease, a rough diagram or a mental picture will show the interpretation of an increasing or decreasing bearing. CHAPTER IIL BELLINETOSE D/F Tr has been mentioned that a very high degree of amplification is tequired with rotating loop D/F because of the smallness of the loop «diameter compared with wave-length. High amplification inevitably results in an increase in the general noise level of the receiver with ‘a consequent tendency to mask the minimum position of the frame, and large frame aerials become unwieldy, making the D/F process slower and more laborious. About 1907, the research workers Bellini and Tosi developed a D/F system using fixed frames, and this system is now practically standardized for permanent ground D/F stations, It is referred to as the Bellini-Tosi, or more simply, the B.T, system. Its two great advantages ate— 1. As the frame aerials are fixed, they can be made very much Janger than a rotating loop. 2 The D/F process is ‘carried out by swinging a small light “search” coil, and is therefore very rapid. ‘A BLT. aerial system consists of two fixed loops at 90° to each other, The orientation of the loops is not important, but it is usual to mount them so that the plane of one lies true north-south and that of the other true east-west. As will be shown later, this assists in calibration of a new station, When B.T. acrials are used on fa ship or aircraft, they are mounted s0 that the plane of one of them lies in the fore-and-aft line, the other one therefore being athwartships. ‘The Radiogoniometer. This instrument, in conjunction with B.1. aerials, constitutes the complete B.T. D/F system, The general principle of the goniometer is shown in Fig. 24. The two fixed coils and B are called the stator coils and are at 90° to each other. Each stator coil forms part of one frame circuit Mounted centrally in the space between the stator coils is a simall coil called the search coil, which is connected to the receiver. Con- nections to the search coil are made by means of slip-rings so that it can be freely rotated without encountering stops. A scale and pointer associated with the search coil spindle completes the arrangement. ‘The search coil is in effect a small frame aérial and has a figure-8 polar diagram, by virtue of which DjF is carried out, Electrically, however, the method is equivalent to the rotation of a much Target ‘frame, comparable in size to the actual B.T. aerials. ‘The action of the goniometer can be analysed as follows. Fig. 25 represents the stator coils of the goniometer. (For reasons shorty to be dncussed, each stator coils alvays wound in two sections. 9» jE HANDBOOK FOR WIRELESS OPERATORS Consider the case of a given transmitter at a given distance {rom the D/F station. If this transmitter is due north or south, ie. in line with the N-S. loop, there will be no resultant current in the W. loop, and a maximum current in the N.S. loop. Similarly, Fre. 24 Fie, 25 if the transmitter is due east or west, there will be maximum current in the E.-W. loop and none in the N.S. loop. current in N.S. loop for a transmitter due N. or S. current in E.-W, loop for the same transmitter at the same distance due I. or W. Now consider the case for an inter {,005@ mediate direction making an angle 6 with the N.S. loop, and assuming the same fransmitier at’ the same distance (the line PQ in Fig. 25). N.S. loop AW. loop, Current in Current in. AT) t Ty, c03 (00° 1,518 ‘~~. Tisin 8 Pio. 28 Taside the goniometer there will thus be two fields at 90° to one another, the field intensities being represented by J, cos 9 and J, sin 6.” The Girection of the resultant field can be found from the parallelogram law. This is done in Fig. 26. The line OX represents the resultant field in magnitude and direction, a BELLINI-TOSI D/P 2 Examining the diagram, it will be seen that Jysin 0 tans = Tos 0 4 Fx tang If therefore 4? = 1, we shall have tan 6 ° Tat so say th rent eld inthe gona in exactly thee pla nat esate el he outed sgl Beanie the ba tomes By oalng tbesarh cole ge tain he een of te Tesla Band hence the Run Ginn can be determi The ction m1 ingles, of couse, that 1, Zy which nea bolt cdl eeptive propria in ach Bap. The {ro frame aecials mist, therfore, be accurately matched and posses the same resistance, inductance, and capacity. The success of the Bop ilies spends upon ths matching Kor Te eee” seg als i indepentont aici als aa cl besten of sal th eld SEURSP aa ap dene ane tle O ig 36 VU cos OF Fain HF =L vet OF sin Trl) Matching of B.T. Acrials. It is a comparatively simple matter to secure correct physical matching of B.T. loops, and proper care in mechanical details will produce two loops which have identical electrical constants, Unfortunately the problem by no means ends here. A frame aerial is an oscillatory circuit and, therefore, works ‘most efficiently when tuned to resonance with the frequency of the wanted signal. If both B.T. loops could be tuned accurately to resonance all would be well, but itis extremely difficult to do this, ‘The exact resonant point is never very sharply defined in an aerial circuit, and in low resistance oscillatory circuits a small amount of rmistuning will produce quite large phase angles between EMF. and current. “This can be seen from the expression Reactance fen = Resistance where 0 is the phase angle,